I want to start my feedback by thanking Vladimir, his wife and two daughters for coming all the way to Belgium from half-way across the world. Similarly, I want to extend my thanks and congratulations to the Systema Belgium instructors (Koen and Jurgen) and organizers of the seminar; they were simply amazing in terms of coordinating things to a minute detail as well as generous with their time/effort as regards offering transport to people, micro-managing problems, etc., etc. BIG Thanks to all!!
Now, as regards my experience of the seminar: I have attended several seminars with Vladimir spanning a period of almost 10 years. I remember the first seminar in Paris, May 2004 (Vladimir’s first in Europe?). He impressed me on several levels at the time: pure calmness combined with a high level of awareness and self-control. He communicated concepts in a simple and accessible way. He didn’t say or do anything that was not necessary or excessive. Just like his movements. Only as much or as little as necessary. Nothing more and nothing less. I remember scratching my eyes several times during his demos wishing that there was a stop and rewind button so that I could see it again. Unfortunately there wasn’t. But then, I would get to see the same attack again and a different set of movements would unfold in front of me. Back to the eye scratching…
Almost ten years later, Brussels… (I’ve lost most of my hair in the meanwhile, he still has his intact)... Again, Vladimir’s calmness and positive energy exuded from him. The seminar was organized around fundamental Systema principles: breathing, relaxation, structure and movement.
The teaching was done by way of scaffolding, following logical steps:
• If you don’t breathe correctly and fully, you cannot be relaxed.
• If you are not relaxed, you cannot maintain your structure.
• And without proper structure there is no effective movement, only dancing around.
The first evening focused on learning how to relax through tension. The idea of pushing the floor away from you during a push up is just as creative as breathing through tensed parts of your body or simply different parts of your body. It simply changed the way I do pushups although from the outside I am pretty sure it looks exactly the same (well, maybe not for Vladimir’s super perceptive eyes). Same concept applied to leg raises and squats. Breathing through tension, relaxing the tensed parts, being super aware of the tight spots and limitations in your body. And then, how to do the 1 ½ step walk. Some people didn’t get it. I can’t say I did, either. But since then I believe there is a funny spring in my step? Priceless stuff…
The following two days of training focused on studying distance, creating movement and learning how to let the body react in a natural and relaxed way to whatever stimulus, i.e. “attack” presented itself. This is where I remembered about the (in)famous “FAP’s” Fixed Action Patterns; they are defined as “innate evolutionary responses” to stimuli – such as the “flinch” effect in case of a knife attack (bringing the arms in front of the body to defend), or moving the head backwards in the first milliseconds of a punch already initiated.
This is the fundamental issue that Systema training solves: it slowly gets rid of FAP’s and lets the subconscious mind take over and just REACT in the most appropriate and effective manner. When I watch Vladimir at work during demos or instructional videos, I am always struck by two things: absolute freedom of movement (which indicates absence of FAP’s) and relaxation (no emotional content).
During the seminar he said: “If you hit, you have to hit in such a way as to take away his fighting SPIRIT; he does not even know what just happened to him, but his will to fight is over”. Then Vladimir added: “Then, we are friends again”? He also reminisced of his teacher, Mikhail Ryabko who “When he hits, he changes your vision of the world”.
200 odd people are no small number to manage and teach. Vladimir did it to perfection, as usual. Some people were experienced and displayed good understanding of Systema philosophy (i.e. train softly, slowly, don’t move in a jerky way [or like a jerk...]) Other people were exploring, trying to replicate whatever Systema moves they had in their heads (perhaps from videos or Vlad’s demos). And then, unfortunately, the usual ones with over-inflated egos and a huge desire to impress and “win” at all costs: hitting as hard as they could, forcing moves on training partners and… displaying huge “understanding” of what tension is: “You are too tense..”. Yeah, Ok, whatever…
Overall, I think this was a principle-based seminar with the ultimate focus of creating subconscious motor reactivity as opposed to FAP’s. Vladimir chose not to do his usual long demos that wow people and make them want some more... I personally would have liked a few, just as a treat... I mean, they guys training in Toronto get it all the time, right?? Thank you Vladimir, hope to see you soon again!
Adrian Codrea
Systema Dublin
Ireland

I wanted to thank Vladimir for the breathing exercises that he showed in LA. They benefit my health greatly and it was amazing how many more layers of tension and fear I discovered in 2 days and few simple exercises.
I also wanted to thank Vladimir for using me in a few of the demos. It is quite amazing how much I learn in a few seconds when it's hands-on teaching.

It had been a while since I trained with Vladimir, and before this seminar it was only once. Since I've been leading a group for a while in Maine and hadn't been to a serious training event since I was in Moscow over a year ago, I was due for a thorough experience, Vlad-style.
At times in my own training I think I have to sweat and feel pain and burst breathe a lot to know something is happening, but Vlad's seminar reminded me of how deep the work is when you stay soft and don't worry so much.
All exercises and concepts were simple, but all of them permeated much more deeply than I would have imagined.
One of the things I was looking to learn at this seminar was how to run a large group of people, since most of my experience had been small groups and one-on-one training. Well, Vladimir lead a group of 160 participants at this seminar! Given, they were all there to be trained by him, but to think of communicating efficiently to such a large group of people is mind-numbing. He effortlessly showed how one can convey the information needed to do the work in the simplest and quickest way. Inspiring to say the least.
What was so profound to me was the relationship between the instructions being given and how I interpreted them. Since Vladimir conveyed his information with such simplicity, it was much harder to be confused with my interpretation. Furthermore, since he was moving with us it was easier to feel what he was talking about.
Turning off the analytical mind was the hardest work of the entire seminar for me, and of course this is something that is felt with every training. The mind starts to turn everything you are experiencing into "petty conflicts," making a big deal of simple feelings that must happen anyway. Allowing myself to have the work be about feeling everything and not doing something about everything was the hardest struggle, but it was the deepest lesson and the greatest help.
All the training exercises, concepts, examples and demonstrations presented things that we encounter in daily life. Whether it be working with a knife or rolling on the floor with 159 other people, the lessons permeated to all areas of my life.
A couple quotes from the seminar:
Vladimir was demonstrating the "heavy hand" punch and had one of the participants hit him a couple times to get a feel for it. He laughed and kindly said to him "See, you WANT to hit me. I don't WANT to hit you."
At one point I was partnered up with Sergei, a man who has trained with Vladimir and others for many years and was a pleasure to work with. We were doing a drill on the ground with knives where we had to stab and cut the other person and they were to constantly evade the blade. I seemed to keep getting stuck with his blade on some part of my body, stopping, then trying to do better the next time. I was feeling sorry for myself fairly quickly. He kindly and quietly took advantage of this and I kept experiencing more of the same. He stopped with me between his knife and the floor and said "Every time you get stuck, you give up. Don't stop moving. Don't give up." Those words hit home, and not just with the knife work. However, that is the kind of honesty one can expect when working in the Systema environment, and it's undoubtedly helpful in all aspects of life and training. There is a care and kindness to the honesty in all the work.
All these things I wish to carry on to others and experience as often as I can. If you haven't yet visited a seminar, I highly recommend it!
Take care,
Daniel

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]Date Added: 2013-05-22 10:57:11

Short Work Seminar by Vladimir Vasiliev ( by Sherman Lau, 77 words )

Thank you very much again for last week's training at the RMA.
I greatly appreciate the opportunity to train with the students at the school and to study under Max and Vladimir. I felt exceptionally welcome, and blessed by the chance to feel Vladimir's work. I will keep very fond memories of the experience.
I look forward to seeing Vladimir next month in New York, and hope to make a trip to Toronto again.

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]Date Added: 2013-01-25 18:13:14

Short Work Seminar by Vladimir Vasiliev ( by Mark Fan, 1133 words )

<P>As an infrequent visitor to Systema HQ myself, it is always a special trip. It becomes a sort of pseudo-reality when you see many familiar faces that you’ve never actually met (e.g., instructors who are well known throughout the world for their seminars and youtube videos, but never trained with). It is easy to be a little awestruck, but seeing everyone’s smiling and kind faces, attention to detail, and care for each other before the seminar even began made me sure that it would be a good one. Today was also special to me because it was the first time that I worked directly with Vladimir, receiving some strikes and some feedback from him. </P>
<P>Interestingly, when he asked me to punch him in the face during a demonstration, he told me I was too nice – something that cut very quickly to a deeper issue I have in training and in life – all identified from one push with the fist… I have been told that before, but to hear it again from Vladmir has bumped it back onto my list of things to consider in my training. What was also interesting was when I received punches from him. Even though his punches were fast, accurate and powerful, he hit me in such a way that did not scare or hurt me too much. Those of you who know me, know that I frequently jump back or lean away from punches when I feel danger, to such a degree that I am preventing myself from learning to take them properly. Maybe it was the nature of the work at the seminar, but I was able to stay closer to him for a longer, and take more punches in the right way; it was right because it built spirit, confidence and therefore relaxation and calmness in the body. </P>
<P>While there are many psychological effects of his punches – the speed, the placement, and the unexpectedness of the angles – it was his control of depth that was most interesting, and difficult to emulate precisely. To demonstrate, he punched someone at roughly the same angle and speed twice, but explained the first punch hit the body, while the second hit the muscle. From what I could observe, the first punch distributed its force throughout the receiver’s body, and they moved backwards, whereas the second one sort of “exploded” relaxation into the specific point of content. The person was more visibly affected at the point of contact with the second punch. When he showed me and my partner, he did not punch as fast. He punched with a small amount of penetration into the body, but it impacted the muscle specifically, and did not transfer force into the rest of the body. It did however, make me collapse the area that was punched, and that bent me and allowed him to subtly translate the same punch into a strike to the jaw – a “double strike”. </P>
<P>Short work seems to be a culmination of many of the softer and less visible elements of Systema practice. Some of my first impressions: ? Patience – so you can train at the right pace, and observe deeply. You also wait wait wait for the person to come closer, and launch your strikes quickly, quietly, powerfully, accurately and because you waited long enough, imperceptibly. The attacker has come too close to escape. The faster they come, the harder it is for them to change course and your strikes have more power because of it. ? Relaxation – in particular, the shoulders. A great deal of the work at the seminar was to push without tensing the shoulders. Vladimir gave us specific homework which you can try. Lie on the floor and begin your pushup. Be careful that your shoulders do not become tense as soon as the push-up begins (where you place your fists on the floor has a big impact on this, make sure it is not too close to your chest or too high as it will jam your shoulders). Push the floor away from you (obviously the floor won’t move, but you will go up, but the feeling is that the floor is moving away from you), and at no point should the pressure on your fists change (if it does, unnecessary tension arose somewhere – you need tension, but not any that makes your punch obvious and alters your pushing power and consistency). </P>
<P>Any tension that appears in the shoulders during the slow push-up should be removed with breathing, or a little movement to relax the affected area. This way, when you are restricted (e.g., you could be grabbed around the shoulders), you can push/strike quickly, lightly and powerfully without tensing your shoulders. ? Awareness – short work is built on relaxation. The faster and more accurately you can detect tension in yourself and others, the better for your striking accuracy and power. The pushup described above will help you. ? Continuity of movement – your strike does not end after the first point of contact, it should bounce and keep going to the next available target. ? Necessity – your strike should not have any extra power than is needed. Recall my story about the “depth” of the punch earlier. It is actually quite a light punch to affect the muscle. If you want to bounce your punch around, and pop relaxation into the muscles of each point of contact, you cannot hit too hard. The harder you “try” to hit, the more tension you will return to yourself, the more pain instead of relaxation you will inflict, and the more anger you will create in both yourself and your partner. ? Breathing – not explicitly discussed in the seminar, but easily forgotten. When practicing strikes, and waiting waiting waiting for your partner, tension will build in both of you. </P>
<P>Breathe continuously, and lightly, throughout the whole body, to equalize the “spots” of pressure/tension that arise from receiving strikes all over. ? Balance – it is always more effective to push your partner when they are off balance. As a drill, you can try this. As your partner slowly pushes you away/off balance, try to place your hand on them in such a way that they are not able to push you anymore, and you take their strength away. You return to balance, and they lose theirs. This is where you should strike. In addition, when they have just broken their balance, that is the perfect time to deliver your push. In the context of deep striking, this is how your punches can go deep inside the person. </P>
<P>Overall it was a very interesting seminar. I stuck with one very good partner throughout, so it allowed me to focus on the lessons very specifically. </P>

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]Date Added: 2013-01-25 18:16:37

Short Work Seminar by Vladimir Vasiliev ( by Wayne Fyffe, 104 words )

I recently attended a 2 day seminar in Toronto last week on "short work" and "escape from holds". I purchased 10 DVDs but the one I studied first was "breath work". Our breathing is vital in all area of life as you have stated.
What is refreshing about Systema is its' simplicity, natural movement, breathing and the awareness of your body tension and fear. I have studied Kyusho Jujitsu specifically "combat pressure points". With any new learning situation one becomes a "newbie" and must develop a new way of relating to self, others and life circumstances. This becomes more critical when one has sustained injury.

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]Date Added: 2013-01-25 18:55:02

Short Work Seminar by Vladimir Vasiliev & Escape from Holds by Max Franz ( by Jose Rodulfo, 350 words )

This seminar was quite personal for me, I feel liberated that I finally understand what Vlad, Max and Tony meant when they said I “had tension”. This tension is and was due to my previous training in the traditional style of martial arts. On Saturday I worked extensively with a much older gentleman, who was also very steeped in this traditional form and he was very stiff. As a result of my ongoing practice with Systema, I was able to see the same tension that my Systema teachers had remarked on in my movement limit this man’s movement. While working with him, he became visibly frustrated and confused by how easily I was able to take control; he asked me many questions like - how long I had been practicing Systema; how was I able to do this and that. And like my teachers I told him he “had tension”. When I think about sparring with him on Saturday, I can’t believe that I was just like him.
The second that you can identify what “tension” really is I believe that you are truly on your way to reaping the rewards of Systema. Vlad taught us that to achieve the ability to do short work, one really has to be relaxed, not only in body, but also in mind and spirit. It is the holy trifecta, the achievement of relaxation in mind, body and spirit. Many people think that being relaxed means that you loose strength, but those of us who practice Systema know that being relaxed actually increases power. Vlad teaches that one has to be in a constant state of awareness, checking and adjusting to reduce tension. We also learn from Systema two other things that may be counter-indicative to being relaxed: maintaining a “full fist” and being tense in a specific area while you remain relaxed everywhere else.
I have been practicing Systema for over 10 years and I feel like I am among family, and to Vlad I say thank you for another amazing seminar ?.

Excellent seminar, I am still very impressed such this two greats masters Vladimir and Mikhail teach us the basics of their martial art in way simple e clear. And i think this it's the best result that each teacher should aspire.
Thank so much for all.

This was my first big seminar with one of the founders of Systema and it was a great time. We have been exposed to 2 full days of specialised Systema exercises aimed at breathing, relaxing, short work and knife-work. Nearly every exercise was done with a different partner, so I gained experience of working with different weight, height, mastery level and different style of work. Again, nearly every exercise you could see Vladimir Vasiliev observing, correcting and advising the participants.
The seminar was organised really well, it felt pleasant and flawless. The location of Eton College in Windsor is spectacular and prestigious. The Windsor Castle, current residence of the Queen is only a couple of minutes’ walk from the venue and my wife enjoyed a tour of it.
In the end of the seminar I was approved by Vladimir Vasiliev as an Instructor-in-training, a confirmation of skill and a challenge to become an Instructor.
Overall it was great time, good learning and will certainly do it again.
Big Thanks to the organisers and to Vladimir Vasiliev!